Chicago in White dinner returns

Tickets for al fresco meet-up on sale July 16

People attend the White Dinner event at Place des Vosges in the Marais district… (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes )

July 03, 2012

Chicagoans looking for a taste of the Parisian lifestyle should mark their calendars for July 16. That's the day tickets for this summer's pop-up dinner event known as Chicago in White go on sale to the general public, according to the event's website.

The event is an imitation of Paris' Diner en Blanc, gathering diners dressed entirely in white to a large public place, bringing their own tables and chairs for the feast. What may be more surprising than seeing a crowd of diners dressed in white is the fact that this event (tickets for which cost $30) is strictly B.Y.O.M. (Bring Your Own Meal).

The cost and trouble of bringing a table and chairs downtown may be worth it for the experience of dining outdoors in Chicago; last year's event took place with 1,000 diners in Daley Plaza. As is tradition, the location to this year's Chicago in White gathering will remain unannounced until the night of the dinner, when participants will gather at assigned "harmonization points" and be lead to the location by the "Heads of Table." The website notes that it will take place rain or shine, and optimistically notes, "it may be the most fun you've ever had!"

Attendants of last year's Diner en Blanc Chicago will have priority access to the $30 tickets for this year's dinner from 8 a.m. July 13 to 8 a.m. July 16. People on the waiting list for last year's tickets will also have the chance to buy tickets for this year from 8 a.m. July 14 to 8 a.m. July 16. The remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public at noon July 16 and again at 9 p.m. More information can be found at the event's website, here.